The adhesive-coated slides that are used with the tape-transfer method for
frozen sections are stored at cryostat temperatures.This permits the frozen
section to be transferred to the slide WITHOUT MELTING from the cold tape
which captured the section as it was cut. Finally, the adhesive coating is
polymerized in 8 millisec. The still frozen section is ready for your
fixation-staining protocol.
This method allows you to cut sections, as thin as 1 micron, since the cold
tape supports the section as it is being cut and also preserves the
morphology. Morphological details degrade when a unfixed frozen section is
melted on a room temperature in the mounting step in the conventional
method.
The tape-transfer method makes it possible to obtain sections of fatty
tissue and other difficult blocks with ease and insures the section will
not come off the slide even in the most rigorous protocols.
Bernice
schiller@instrumedics.com